Get Out

Music worth leaving the house to hear this week

ThursdayThe Everybodyfields
Six String Cafe
If this Johnson City, Tenn. trio plays their self-described "slow, stripped down, country-tinged" songs as hushed live as they do on their fine album Half-Way There: Electricity & the South, you might have to slide your chair a little closer to the stage. That's okay--their sad songs are worth a little journey. 8 p.m./$5--RC

Habitat for Humanity Benefit with Jule Brown, Dynamite Brothers, Lud, New Town Drunks
Local 506
Not only do the frequent area benefits demonstrate the spirit of the musical community, they also offer terrific bills of disparate artists. Jule Brown has the feel of porch-bound minstrels wiling away an autumn day with country-blues shuffles. New Town Drunks could be their rambunctious country-rock neighbors, with their primer-patched truck on blocks and a party going on until all hours. Lud's crunchy indie rock is kicking at the door, not because they want to get in, but because these jaded hipsters like kicking. Meanwhile, in the alley garage, throttling, off-beat and eclectic rockers Dynamite Brothers are busy transplanting the Minutemen's jazzy, funk-punk onto the chassis of ZZ Top. 9 p.m./$9 --CP

FridayTsunami Relief with Michael Holland, Cole Guerra, Killer Filler, The Nerve, de la luz
Temple Ball
Some people may go to benefit shows for tax deductions, but--given the outpouring of talent that has stepped to the plate as part of the Triangle's tsunami relief effort--most people are going to these shows for one reason: the music. Temple Ball presents one of the final billings, and eclecticism is king. Expect a funk injection with The Nerve, perfectly shaped folk from Michael Holland and inspired young songcraft from Cole Guerra. --GC

Mortar and Pestle CD Release Party, Alvarez Painting, Tigerbearwolf
Nightlight
Trekky Records releases Mortar and Pestle's debut The Oak in the Acorn this week. Formed by Will Hackney and Martin Anderson in 2001 while both were teenagers, Trekky is home to several young bands, including M&P, who went from Chapel Hill High to form the melodic group at UNC-G. Alvarez Painting, Hackney and Anderson's adventurous rock outfit, open the show, with label mates Tigerbearwolf. 10 p.m./$5 --CT

The Butchies
Duke Coffeehouse
It doesn't get much more Durham-ized than this. Hometown rockers The Butchies bring their bubblegum pop punk to the newly renovated and re-energized Coffeehouse, which has a slew of local and national acts lined up for the spring. The Pink Slips open. --CT

SNMNMNM CD release party
Local 506
Quirk is the invariable factor behind SNMNMNM, Chapel Hill's four-piece accordion-and-tuba rock band that makes arena-shaped anthems from Weezer's nasal harmonies and They Might Be Giants' wit. Apparently, their sixth album, As Best as We Can!, is all about the exclamation (points) and a perpetually loser-inclined shtick of blues and bust. --GC

Kristin Hersh
Cat's Cradle
From the Throwing Muses through her solo career to her new side project, 50 Foot Wave, Hersh's demonstrated an astounding blend of fragility and power. Part of it's her voice, which can quaver then explode. Even her solo gigs feature a delicacy and honesty that can be brutal and shocking, as on "Spain," in which Hersh wishes her husband would have an affair so he would hate himself like she does herself. 9 p.m./$12--CP

SaturdayTsunami Benefit with Countdown Quartet, Generations with Brother Yusef and Adia Ledbetter
ArtsCenter
Party music princes Countdown Quartet and the soulful Generations Band, with bluesman Brother Yusef and Adia Ledbetter, join together for this Red Cross/UNICEF benefit. Come shake a tail feather for a good cause. 8 p.m./Suggested donation $10--CT

Tommy Stinson
Local 506
Twenty-five years ago, Tommy Stinson was a 13-year-old kid in a little Minneapolis band called The Replacements. They would eventually help rewrite snarl into the rock pantheon. Now, Stinson is 37, and this ex-Replacement/ex-Guns 'n' Roses bassist/one-time Puff Daddy collaborator is proving to be a more-than-capable solo artist. His debut, Village Gorilla Head, is an ambitious, circumspect, decade-in-coming travelogue from a man with stories to tell, lessons to offer and spirit to burn. --GC

Athens Boy Choir
The Cave
The queer, gender-ambiguous duo of Athens Boy Choir released their debut album of spoken word poetry/rap, Rhapsody in T, on Indigo Girls' label Daemon Records, and it's a thoughtful, sometimes humorous, generally successful update of the beatnik vibe. One day, kewpie dolls and urinal stalls will be laughed at the way you're laughed at now. 7:30 p.m./$5--CP

Empowerment Project Fundraiser with Emily Waszak, Jim Smith's Tall Buildings
The Cave
This is the first of several shows to raise awareness of and funds for the Empowerment Project, the group of documentarians behind The Panama Deception and, more recently, Waging Peace. Emily Waszak will share her dark, stark story songs, while Jim Smith will gather with his Tall Buildings for some near-power-pop rock. 10 p.m./$5--RC

The Avett Brothers
Kings
The Washington Post recently opined that the Avett Brothers make "Pre-Civil War modern rock," describing one song as "Robert E. Lee singing for the Ramones." 9 p.m./$10--RC

Andrew McKnight
Six String Cafe
How many environmental engineers does it take to write a song? Only one, if his name is Andrew McKnight. His zeal for the hands-on preservation of historical landscapes spilled over into a second career as a musician specializing in folk, bluegrass and blues, and has him personalizing the past with a mix of invented characters and his own take on historical characters' lives including Thomas Jefferson's love life. 8 p.m./ $8--GB

TuesdayThe Young Idea, The Hurt
The Library
Come check out two up and coming Triangle rock bands at The Library's weekly event, Indie Rock Tuesdays. The Young Idea's skinny tie power pop sound is indebted to its kings, The Jam. Pogo dancing requested. 10 p.m./$2--CT

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, Virginia Coalition
Cat's Cradle
If your virgin exposure to Virginia Coalition is anything like mine, you'll probably last seven songs before heading for the parking lot. But that doesn't mean staying home is acceptable tonight. Opener Stephen Kellogg is a delightfully normal guy with an excitingly experienced heart: He's had religion, desolation, love, heartbreak, success, failure and just about every oscillation in between. His writing is his redemption, and--if you listen--his '60s-steeled singing may be yours. 9 p.m./$10--GC

Sun Domingo
The Pour House
As their name suggests, they're from south of the border, just not as far as you might think. Atlanta's Sun Domingo aren't in the world music business either. Three-part harmony and a drummer who comes from behind the kit to play lead guitar keep their mix of pop, retro and groove interesting. 10 p.m./Free--GB

WednesdayShannon O'Connor
The Cave
According to Shannon O'Connor, she comes out of old-time circles and the campfire tradition, and most of her gigs around town lately have been solo. But don't be surprised if she recruits a couple backing players for this show, the better to represent the songs on her upcoming Nashville-recorded/ California-feeling album. 7:30 p.m./Pass the hat--RC